Let’s Start Talking approaches churches on almost a daily basis, asking for a few minutes at one of their assemblies to present to that church’s members opportunities to be involved in short-term missions. We do not ask for money, we do not ask for any long-term commitments, nor do we ask for anything that would detract from that church’s current mission efforts. We do not need the sermon time. Class time, time before or after a service, even Wednesday night would be wonderful!
Why is it so hard to get an opportunity to tell the Body of Christ about specific requests from mission churches who are asking for help in telling the story of Jesus to their neighbors?
One of the most common reasons we hear when churches say that now is not a good time is that their mission work/mission committee is not functioning or is in disarray and they don’t know what they are doing, so let them get their act together and they will get back to LST. I can’t remember when we have ever been called back at a later date by a church that had pulled themselves together.
In the previous post, we talked about questions that a strong church with a good mission program—at least in their own eyes—might ask in order to be sure they were not deceiving themselves, being satisfied with a mediocre mission effort when they desire and are capable of a great mission effort.
Now I’d like to talk with those church leaders/members in smaller churches, with either no real mission program or one in disarray as described above! Let’s ask some hard questions and see where the answers lead us!
1. Why is your church small? Myriad reasons come to mind as to why a church might be small, some perfectly healthy and other reasons very unhealthy. Some healthier reasons might include being a new church plant, being in an unchurched area where growth is slow. Unhealthy reasons might include because you are the only right ones, or you like to do things one way—your way. I do challenge you to list ten reasons why your congregation is small—then evaluate those reasons for health.
2. How are you trying to grow? And holding Sunday services does not count.
3. To what part of the Great Commission are you devoting your available resources? Sherrylee and I met with a church recently in a resort area that often has no more than five members present, yet they rent a church building for Sundays and pray mostly for Christian tourists to attend. After the service the 4-5 members all went out to eat together, without inviting any of us guests to go with them. Does this picture feel wrong to you?
4. What could you do that would increase your “strength”? Could you merge with another church? I was in a small Texas town of about 1500 people recently that had four churches of Christ listed in the phone book. I believe we went to the largest with a membership of about 150. I wonder how long it has been since anyone made overtures about merging with any of the other congregations? My only solace was that the Baptist had 17 churches in the same phonebook. Human frailty is not denominational.
5. What opportunities do you have because you are small that a large church might not have? What if the whole church supported that one young person or the just-retired couple to prepare for missions! You don’t have anyone?—then why don’t you adopt a new Christian who has a strong desire to serve abroad, but no church home. Find them through one of the Christian university mission departments.
I’ve worshipped in many small churches all over the world. Small is not the same as weak. The fact that eighty percent of American churches of Christ have fewer than a hundred members is often quoted as an excuse, but I keep hearing the words of the Messenger to the little church in Asia Minor, which he described as having just a “little strength.” To this church he says, “I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut!” (Revelation 3:8)
Rethinking your mission efforts may start—for large or for small churches—with rethinking who you are and why you exist at all. I do believe that when you know why it is worth all the time and effort to be church together, you will have a much better perspective for pursuing the mission of every church!
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